Artistic Recovery Therapies

What it reported doing in 2025

Artistic Recovery Therapies (ART) provides free, professionally-led art workshops in diverse media, including clay, painting, and fiber arts, all led by a licensed mental health counselor with a gradate degree in art therapy. In 2025, ART facilitated 40 workshops, providing a total of 640 direct contact hours of programming to community participants. By pairing local artists with individuals in recovery or seeking therapeutic creative outlets, our programming fostered skill-building and social connection. ART also worked with 8 volunteers from Western Washington Univeristy, providing over 600 hours of hands-on experience to students in WWU's Psychology undergraduate and graduate programs. ART Groups meet in the Artistic Recovery Therapies studio, which is located on the top floor of the historic National Bank Building in downtown Bellingham. This bright, colorful space is filled with welcoming places to sit, relax, and work on art, and boasts amazing views of Bellingham Bay and Lummi Island. We also have a clay room with a pottery wheel, slab roller, and kiln. Our Therapeutic ART Groups bring people together to explore creativity, learn art skills and build community, all while working on different projects that they can take home with them. Therapeutic ART Groups are developed and facilitated by Richard Evans, co-founder and Executive Director of Artistic Recovery Therapies and a Licensed Mental Health Counselor with more than 20 years experience working in behavioral health settings. He has a master's degree in Mental Health Counseling and Art Therapy from Antioch University in Seattle, and is the owner of Mindful Arts LLC, where he provides art therapy in English and Spanish. During group, our therapist is assisted by student volunteers from Washington University's Psychology Department. Volunteers have a background in art, are pursuing (or have recently attained) a degree in psychology, and have an interest in pursuing a career in expressive art therapy or an area of behavioral health. Therapeutic ART Groups at Artistic Recovery Therapies help build confidence and community. Because our groups are open to all, we attract a diverse group of participants that bring varied backgrounds, ages, socioeconomic statuses, and life experiences...retirees, college students, individuals experiencing unstable housing situations, social workers, educators, parents, healthcare workers, and residents of a domestic violence shelter, just to name a few. Though their backgrounds may be varied, there's a common thread that brings our participants together... exploring their creativity while gaining skills to help improve mental health. Anyone is welcome to sign up for Therapeutic ART Groups. We work with therapists at Northwest Regional Council who direct potential participant-artists our way and have had referrals from behavioral health therapists and social workers in Whatcom County. What happens in a Therapeutic ART Group? Our sessions start with an activity that's designed to help participants get to know each other. Then, the therapist leads a guided warm-up art activity that serves as a calming way to relax and let stress and anxiety slip away, as participants work on a different project each week, all guided by the art therapist. These may consist of painting, clay, beading, collage, fiber art, drawing, and more. All activities have a focus on gaining new skills, building confidence, promoting relaxation, and improving mental health. Our participant-artists provide positive feedback, noting reduced stress and anxiety during and after group, as well as a strong feeling of community and support.

Financial Efficiency

• Mission deployment rate: 42.2%; rating input score 42
• Program expense ratio: 58%; rating input score 58

Transparency & Controls

• Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 52nd percentile among comparable filings
• Major donor itemization: Limited

Sustainability

• Operating margin: 29%; rating input score 81; 81st percentile among comparable filings
• Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.45; rating input score 70; 70th percentile among comparable filings
• Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 74; 74th percentile among comparable filings
• Officer compensation ratio: 87.3%; rating input score 0; 0th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

• Program expense growth: 89% per year; rating input score 100; 96th percentile among comparable filings
• Revenue growth: 6.7% per year; rating input score 100; 52nd percentile among comparable filings
• Asset growth: 32.8% per year; rating input score 100; 87th percentile among comparable filings